Reflections From #HRTechConf 2017

After a full week in Las Vegas for the 20th annual HR Technology® Conference & Exposition (preceded by InfluenceHR, but we’ll have more on that in an upcoming post), here are our top takeaways from what was, yet again, another great event. For those of you we had the pleasure of meeting at our booth — thanks for stopping by!

The overwhelming support for the Las Vegas community after the Mandalay Bay tragedy was truly amazing. Kudos to the HR Technology® leadership team for stepping up and providing support during a very difficult time.

AI Is the New Black —— or Is It?

AI and machine learning surpassed engagement as a hot topic on the show floor, with at least 50 different vendors touching on the topic in their presentations. It was evident that a lot of HCM suite vendors, as well as startups, are exploring AI, and the big news is that LinkedIn announced its talent self-service product (based on a big data analytics system built on AI), which is expected to be in beta until 2018.

While AI is an exciting development in terms of enhancing employee engagement and improving processes and strategies, analysts still remain cautious:

"I don't think anyone has gotten there yet. We're still in the early days. Just stayed tuned. Everyone is working on it — no clear leaders,” said analyst Ron Hanscome, research VP at Gartner.

We are seeing that HR practitioners want to bring the human back to human resources and are divided on whether AI is the answer. It’s a wait-and-see game for now.

UX Is No Longer the New Kid on the Block

People are at the heart of HR, and HR tech that doesn’t get adopted serves zero purpose. As shared by O.C. Tanner at InfluenceHR, people “become adopters if they need, and feel compelled, to [do so].” In other words, if it solves a problem and is fun and easy to use, people will use it.

But UI and UX aren’t the problem they used to be. If you attended the Sierra-Cedar survey findings session, you probably already heard that many (if not most) vendors have already closed the UX gap. The fact remains that any providers that ignore the “human” in HR risk their business. Big time.

The Innovators

Kudos to these vendors:

Google: It was interesting to see its Cloud Job Discovery, and we believe powering job sites with machine learning could be the next major disruptor in the jobs marketplace. And great work on the booth from the Google team — we loved it!

Blueboard: Blueboard, an employee rewards and recognition company, was named the next great HR technology company at this year’s conference. The technology rewards employees with personal, shareable experiences. As a participant last year, we wanted to congratulate Blueboard on the award!

ALEX (by Jellyvision): We love what these guys are doing in benefits and financial wellness — they’re creating a clear, easy to understand, and engaging process for employees. At Click Boarding, we understand the impact of an easy and engaging process, and know just how complicated it is to make something "simple". Keep up the great work!

It was great meeting with everyone and hearing from some of the best minds in HR. We thank everyone for the inspiration and can’t wait to get back to work!